Caroline wins again to make history with British F4 race weekend grand slam

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Caroline wins again to make history with British F4 race weekend grand slam

07 May 17

Three from three at Thruxton for Carlin’s Caroline.

Sargeant takes podium and ensures Carlin one-two.

York makes it a hat-trick of Ford F4 Challenge Cup wins.

7 MAY, 2017 – Jamie Caroline entered the record books by winning the final F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost race at Thruxton to make it three wins from three this weekend and seven for the season. The Carlin racer becoming the first driver in the history of British F4 to take a hat-trick of victories in one weekend. In doing so he extends his advantage at the top of the standings to 86 points from TRS Arden’s Oscar Piastri.

As had been the case in the first race of the day, Caroline wasted no time on the opening lap dispatching Oliver York (Fortec Motorsports) and Alex Quinn (TRS Arden). Finding himself with clear air ahead he escaped the clutches of the chasing pack, setting fastest lap on the way to a historic win.

“I came close to winning all three races in a weekend at the first two meetings of the season and I thought Thruxton might be my best chance of pulling it off,” explained Caroline. “I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and the team.”

“It seems like everyone is a little bit hesitant on the first two laps. I’m not sure why, but maybe this weekend will act as lesson for them that they can push a lot harder.

“Having fresher tyres for this race compared to the earlier race today made such a difference. Not so much in terms of pace, but in terms of comfort and the margin with which I could push.

“The car felt unreal all race. It was on rails which meant I could lap so consistently, breaking the tow and pull away from the chasing pack.

“I wanted to get the hat-trick of wins for Billy Monger. To be the first person to do it in British F4 is very cool, but it was Billy who said to me ahead of the weekend that I had to make it happen so I’m over the moon I’ve done it for him, as well as the team.

Logan Sargeant made it a one-two for Trevor Carlin’s outfit, opportunistically seizing the runner-up spot having carried more momentum onto the start-finish straight to pass Quinn and York who were duelling it out at Club. The latter coming out on top to take third place and a clean-sweep of Ford F4 Challenge Cup class wins.

“We’ve been knocking on the door of a result like this for a while,” said Sargeant. “Thruxton is quite a unique track and if you can break the slipstream like we did it makes life a lot easier.

“I went from fourth to second on the first lap at the final chicane because Quinn and York had a bit of tangle.

“I set about building the gap from there and stayed in second for the rest of the race. I saw York in my mirrors and I was struggling with grip, but I kept pushing to stay ahead.

“Carlin are preparing a mega car every weekend so it’s all about making sure I do the right job to reach the top step. I’ll be doing lots of gym work and sim work to try to be one step higher next time.”

“There were some really close battles in that race,” commented York. “It’s been a really good weekend with pole position. I would have liked to have converted that into a win, but I’ll take this podium.

“We’ve got Oulton Park next on the calendar where I hope to get that first win. I’ll work as hard as I can with Andy Priaulx Sports Management to take the steps necessary to make that happen.

“The move I pulled off on Quinn brought a big smile to my face and it’s been nice to get more Ford F4 Challenge Cup wins under my belt this weekend.”

Quinn fell out of contention with a spin at Club due to clattering the kerbs in his bid to pass team-mate Piastri.

Meanwhile Double R’s Karl Massaad was flying in a similar fashion to his exploits in the opening race of the weekend, climbing from eighth on the grid to fourth in the space of four laps.

The Lebanese karting champion was soon all over the gearbox of York. He briefly snatched third only for York to hit back, unsettling Massaad and leaving him susceptible to Piastri and team-mate Lundqvist who passed him in quick succession. In a frenetic fight for fourth, Lundqvist battled past Piastri who then succumbed to Massaad.

Patrik Pasma brought home another strong points haul in seventh, while Jamie Sharp (Sharp Motorsport) and Harry Webb (Richardson Racing) continued their weekend-long duel in the points. The pair were incredibly evenly matched yet again; Sharp just getting the better of Webb by 0.308s with Daniel Cao within touching distance of them in tenth.

The F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire on 19-21 May for the next rounds of the season.